Pretty good in pink: Allenby wins PGA
December 13| Robert Allenby wore a pink shirt on Sunday in the final round of the Australian PGA Championship in honor of his late mother Sylvia. His form however was red hot, as he stormed to a four shot victory to claim his 4th Australian PGA Championship title.
The Victorian, who took a one-stroke lead into the final round, shot a five-under 66 to finish at 14-under for the tournament at the Hyatt Regency, Coolum in Queensland. John Senden (67) and Scott Strange (69) tied for second at 10 under.
The 38-year-old Allenby has now won back to back tournaments, having beaten Henrik Stenson in a 3 hole playoff last week at the Sun City Challenge in South Africa. His previous Australian PGA titles came in 2000, 2001 and 2005.
“When you start with the lead all you have to do is to hold it and don’t do anything stupid,” said Allenby .
“I did what I had to do from the first hole to the last hole…I had some very, very tough competitors behind me and I had a lot of respect for them. So I tried to just pace myself, I tried to hit as many fairways as I could, I tried to hit as many greens as I could… That’s what I did all day, I just felt totally in control on every shot.”
Allenby certainly stuck to his game plan in a near flawless display on Sunday. He posted five birdies in a clinical display of pure ball striking ability, and despite several players getting to within a stroke of his lead during the final round, he always seemed to be in control. His third birdie of the day at the 12th gave him some breathing room, and he drove that advantage home with two further birdies on the par-five 15th and par-four 17th .
“It’s a nice feeling to win in that fashion,” Allenby told reporters after his victory. “It’s always nice to come down the last with a four-shot lead. I was pretty consistent but to do it under the gun in the final round, that’s pretty special.”
Another reason this win was so special for Allenby was the fact that this is his first win on home soil after losing his mother Sylvia last year to cancer. Allenby has been wearing pink shirts in the final rounds of all events he has played in this year in honor of Sylvia, and having the opportunity to win twice and dedicate the wins to his mother was an incredibly emotional experience for the popular Victorian:
“It’s nice to win with the pink shirt on, that’s for sure,” Allenby said before being overcome with emotion. “This year pink was always my last-day shirt and it was always in honour of my … sorry…Pink is in honour of my mother. Throughout the year I’ve had a couple of chances to win a couple of tournaments in America and in Europe and just haven’t come through because I’ve let too many emotions get in the way of things.”
“It’s been a very tough year but to come out on top last week and this week has been absolutely fantastic. It’s definitely going to be fantastic for my career, it’s just the little bit that’s been missing and I just want to say thanks – and dad I love you.”
